187 - Collide

The bronze-rank qualifiers had taken place in open fields, and the silver-rank ones in an indoor facility clearly repurposed for the task. Gold, however, made up only a few percent of the Human Kingdoms’ adventurers, and so with numbers dramatically thinned, matches could be held in proper full-size arenas.

Not one of Meridian's major stadiums, of course; those were no doubt reserved for the mithril-rank if not orichalcum fights. Rather, the location she arrived at was a medium-sized venue. The outdoor battleground centered on a single large platform surrounded by water, a thin walkway the only entrance. Around it rose tiered stone benches that could seat hundreds. They were about half full with a mixture of participants and civilians.

An invisible magical barrier enclosed the designated combat space. Strong, compared to the others, she thought as she scanned the mana signatures. Could take a tier-ten spell, maybe eleven. Though it would break right after.

Still, defenses that could hold up against a low-Titled’s attack were nothing to sneeze at. Certainly an upgrade. This was a genuinely professional arena, a long-standing establishment that had hosted fights for years, likely up to or above orichalcum. The Guild must have rented it out.

Fortunately, Suyin had been assigned to the same arena as them. They had turned in their cards at the same time and the Guild representative had assumed they were together.

As we kind of are, I guess.

Saffra frowned at the crowd—specifically at the singular fighting area that would need to accommodate all of the participants present. “Looks like short wait times are a thing of the past.”

“Only have to win four matches out of five now, so that’s a silver lining.” They had reached the higher-quality end of the gauntlet, where each bout mattered more, it appeared.

“Not just a numbers game at this point,” Saffra agreed.

Thinking aloud, Vivi murmured, “I wonder if the bottleneck is the arenas themselves. Only so many that hold up against high-rankers, and since most people aren’t proper duelists used to worrying about an audience, comprehensive defenses are a must. To keep things safe.” 

Maybe I should’ve offered my enchantment services to the city, Vivi thought. It would’ve been trivial to [Blink] around and upgrade everything.

“Beats me,” Saffra said. “Anyway, I’m guessing this is where I hit my ceiling.”

Vivi paused. “You don’t think you’ll make it through?”

“Probably not.”

“You can make it to the mithril bracket.”

Saffra pursed her lips. “I’m not so sure. My armor is ridiculous, and so are the spells you’ve given me, but two or three hundred levels is pretty hard to deal with, Lady Vi—” She cut herself off. “Vianora.”

They had an anti-eavesdropping spell around them as a matter of routine, so Vivi assumed the girl wanted to get in the habit of using the right name regardless. I should probably do the same, honestly.

“Guess it comes down to the luck of the draw either way,” Vivi conceded. “But you were handling other golds just fine, and that’s what most of the people here should be.”

Saffra shrugged, not disagreeing but not agreeing either. “We’ll see. Doesn’t matter, all this is just a warm-up. Though I’ll still do my best.” Her expression turned devious all of a sudden, which might’ve been the first time Vivi had seen that look on the girl. “What I’m really shooting for is sneaking a void attack in. I’m slow with it right now, but if I pull it off, it’ll catch them off guard big time.”

Saffra’s plain enthusiasm for her new spell was infectious. Vivi’s lips twitched, and she again resisted the impulse to pat between two cat ears. “I’ll be looking forward to that too. Do you see Suyin anywhere?” 

Vivi scanned the arena, searching for a familiar dark-haired woman in trousers and a billowy shirt. Unlike the previous venues, this one offered nowhere to stand off to the side and practice. A true, professional dueling establishment, it featured only seating areas and the fighting ring below. 

We’ll have to [Blink] somewhere to continue our lessons. Wonder if she’s okay with that.

In the process of hunting for the disciple swordswoman, her attention snagged on a clump of people gathered on the left side of the arena. Their attention was focused on a person at their center. A woman adorned in plate armor had collected a posse of admirers.

Specifically, she was a tall woman, speaking animatedly, and had dark gray hair, orange eyes, and the passive bearing of royalty.

Vivi did a mental double take. “Is that—” She peered closer to make sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her. “Oh, dear.”

Alarmed by Vivi’s tone, Saffra squinted and tried to identify what her mentor had seen. As a level 400, she could make out the woman’s face despite the distance; she just had to try harder. 

“Oh,” the catgirl said. “That’s… that’s Lady Ember.”

Vivi sighed at the confirmation. “She is working her way up the Open Division. Should’ve expected to run into her sooner or later. Only so many arenas she could be at.” 

“Is that Suyin next to her?”

The question caught Vivi genuinely off guard. But she realized a moment later that Saffra didn’t mean ‘next to her’ as in together or actively speaking. Instead, the swordswoman sat cross-legged and straight-backed a dozen paces away. A blade rested on her lap and her eyes were closed—she appeared to be meditating.

Weirdly close, though. Why? The arena had plenty of seating. Something was up. Eavesdropping? Or interested in Ember for another reason? 

To be fair, it was hard not to be intrigued by the dragon princess. She exuded a natural aura of both authority and strength, something gold-rank and higher adventurers would be particularly attuned to picking out.

Even ignoring those qualities, Vivi had never met someone worse at maintaining a low profile than herself… until Ember. Anyone could tell at a glance that the dragon was hiding something, even generously assuming she hadn’t done anything ridiculous to draw people’s attention outright.

I hope she’s not going around and calling people ‘humans’ still, when she’s supposed to be one herself. It had been entertaining back at Prismarche’s Adventurer’s Guild, but it wouldn’t be now that Vanguard had taken responsibility for her.

Or maybe it would. Just also a headache.

Vivi realized she hadn’t responded to her apprentice. “Yes,” she said with a sigh. “That does appear to be Lady Ember, and Suyin meditating suspiciously close to her. Let’s go see what’s going on.” She started toward them.

“As funny as that’s going to be,” Saffra replied, “we should turn in our cards first, no? Get scheduled.”

“Right. That first.” Vivi pivoted to face the administrative area. “Also, don’t call it ‘funny.’ Feels like you're tempting fate somehow.”

Saffra snorted. 

After handing their cards in and receiving a schedule, they began the trek across the arena’s amphitheater to Suyin. Nothing much had changed in the five-minute detour. Ember had collected a genuine crowd, and her admirers were more focused on her than the fight happening down below. 

Suyin didn’t seem to be paying attention to the scene unfolding a short distance from her, but Vivi had watched the woman fight blindfolded. Listening in on a boisterous dragon’s words from a few dozen paces away would pose no challenge at all.

“Am I interrupting anything?” Vivi asked when she neared the disciple. 

“Merely meditating,” Suyin answered without missing a beat. Her eyes remained shut, and she stayed perfectly still. “Honing my senses in a chaotic environment.” She cracked an eye open. “Ah, but I’m being rude. I didn’t greet you.” Before Vivi could answer, Suyin unfolded her legs, stood, gave a slight bow, and smiled at her and Saffra. “I hope the day is treating you both well.”

“It is, thank you. When you say you’re honing your senses… what do you mean by that?”

Suyin cocked her head. “Keeping track of everything around me. The fight below, and the surrounding crowd. It’s a lot of sensory information to work through. This is a rather ideal setting for the exercise.” She looked curiously at Vivi. “Do you not perform similar training, honored sister?”

Vivi chose her words carefully. She didn’t like outright lying even when it really didn’t matter. “Not often, no.”

“Really?” Suyin considered that for a moment. “I suppose you’ve already honed those senses to a sufficient level. I don’t catch Master training such basic skills often either.”

The casual exchange—which didn’t address the jewel-encrusted knight several benches down from them—almost had Vivi thinking it was pure coincidence that the sword disciple had ended up near Ember. But then the woman’s next words dispelled her optimism.

“So, there’s a belle of the ball, if you haven’t noticed,” Suyin said, voice dry as a desert. She flicked her eyes in the direction of Ember. 

“I did notice that, yes. Do you… know who she is?” 

“I was going to ask you the same. I’ve heard Titled rub shoulders more often than you’d think. My master says that everyone knows everyone at those heights, unless you go out of your way to keep your business separated. Fate enjoys tangling up powerful people's lives.” She shrugged. “Anyhow, she’s Vanguard’s newest member.”

To Vivi’s side, Saffra twitched in surprise. 

“Is that so?” Vivi asked cautiously.

I shouldn’t be shocked that news travels fast in Meridian. Vanguard is the most important guild in the world. There’s nothing that would be a juicier topic for gossip.

Still, she didn’t think they’d made a huge announcement about adopting ‘Lady Ember Moore’ into their ranks. It wasn’t a secret either, but how had it leaked out into the rumor mill so quickly?

And yes—Rafael’s new identity for the dragon did use the name Ember had grown accustomed to. The art of subtlety was, to put it kindly, not Princess Embralyne’s forte, so simplicity was the safest strategy. Or so Rafael had determined.

“Where did you hear that from?” Vivi asked.

“She’s been crowing about it herself,” Suyin said with a snort. 

Vivi took psychic damage. Though upon reflection, she shouldn’t have. There was no reason to be exasperated by how Ember had revealed her membership—she had entered the tournament as herself, not under a disguise. Or not any new disguise. She would be Lady Ember Moore until her father lifted her banishment.

Vivi herself was the weird one going to such lengths to stay undercover. Though Suyin and her master are avoiding attention too. I wouldn’t go so far as to say Ember is strange for how she enjoys the spotlight, but it’s not the most common trait in Titled.

Before Vivi could respond to Suyin, the woman grimaced at herself. “Crowing? That was rudely phrased of me, and for no good reason. Someone asked if the rumors were true, and she replied that they were; she was not crowing. She made those confirmations proudly, but why shouldn’t she? My apologies… I’ve spoken thoughtlessly yet again.”

Vivi would hardly blame Suyin for having gotten the impression Ember was self-important and loud-mouthed. She herself had a high opinion of the dragon but would agree with both those descriptors. “I suppose it explains her audience.”

“Apparently there was a fight I missed that was quite the spectacle too. She’s very skilled. But talent is a given as a recruit of Vanguard.”

“One would think,” Vivi replied neutrally. Technically, talent wasn’t their only criterion, and certainly not their most important. In an attempt to avoid the subject, she offered, “I can [Blink] us somewhere we can train in quiet, then return when it’s time for our matches. Unless you have one soon?”

Suyin tilted her head. “Spatial warping with multiple people? Wouldn’t that deplete your mana pool faster than you’d prefer?” After a second, the swordswoman snorted. “Clearly not, ignore me. I do have a match soon, however.” She turned a cool gaze toward Ember. “It’s against her.”

“Oh.” 

Vivi was briefly speechless. It was bound to happen eventually, she thought. Sooner or later two associates of hers would collide. She just hadn’t expected a powerhouse matchup as early as the gold-rank qualifiers. Unless Suyin’s weaker than I thought, I doubt the arena can even hold up against their full-strength attacks.

“That’s… going to be an exciting fight,” Vivi managed after a moment.

“I think it will be. I’m looking forward to it.” Suyin stood and sheathed her sword. “By ‘soon,’ I meant the match after the one taking place, and it seems it’s ending as we speak.” She nodded at Vivi. “We can continue our lessons shortly, Lady Vianora. Do you intend to watch my bout?”

“Of course.”

“Then hopefully this disciple does not embarrass herself in her first real duel.”

“I’m certain you won’t. Best of luck, Suyin.”

For some reason, the woman seemed surprised by Vivi’s plain encouragement. She smiled, raised a hand in a parting gesture, and began heading down the stone stairs two steps at a time.

Vivi and Saffra watched her go. A moment later, Saffra glanced at Vivi and cupped her hand to her ear. They didn’t have an official code, but Vivi understood what the girl meant. She conjured a sound barrier.

“Suyin’s obviously crazy good, but my money’s on the dragon,” Saffra said, a note of mirth in her words.

“I think that’s a fair bet.” As talented as Suyin might be, she wasn’t stronger than a princess of the de Caldaros family. Even if Ember had said she wouldn’t be using her most powerful asset—her dragonfire.

“There’s a snack stand over there.” Saffra pointed to indicate its direction. “You want anything?”

Vivi peered at the cart peddling sweets and baked goods. “If we’re about to get a show,” she sighed, “I suppose it’s appropriate. Let’s go take a look.”